Oh come on, haven’t you let your hair down for a big celebration? Mariah Carey did— but perhaps she should have picked a more private forum than a fancy awards gala!

Mariah Carey got a little too friendly with a bottle of champagne on Jan. 5, and the songbird, 40, clearly felt guilty enough about her boozy acceptance speech at the Palm Springs International Film Festival (see video below) to explain the reasons behind her insobriety .

“[Precious director Lee Daniels and I] were sitting there celebrating, having little splashes [of champagne] and I hadn’t eaten. That’s what it was,” she confessed to reporters backstage at the People’s Choice Awards in L.A. the following night, Jan. 6.

“[The incident] was fine … if people knew me they would understand I have a sense of humor and basically that’s what gets me through life,” she said, before sneakily shifting the blame for her tipsy behavior to Lee, 50.

“We were celebrating for the movie and everything that’s going on. It’s so much exciting stuff for Precious. You know there’s a time for celebration and a time for not. Love Lee, but he’s a bad influence!”

Hey Mariah, don’t blame Lee — he didn’t force you to act like a party monster!